£588,000 grant to boost cycling and walking in Cheshire East

Cheshire East Council is to develop new schemes to promote cycling and walking in the borough after being awarded £588,000 by the government.

The grant follows a bid by the council for a second phase of “active travel” funding from Department for Transport.

Funds will be used to encourage walking and cycling to boost health and help tackle obesity.

And it aims to improve routes to schools and workplaces and access to town centres.

The measures are designed to ensure local transport networks can serve travel needs during the Covid pandemic and help reduce congestion.

Among the new schemes being considered are:

● Vernon Way, Mill Street and Nantwich Road, Crewe
● Black Lane, Manchester Road and Sunderland Street, Macclesfield
● High Street, Sandbach
● West Street and Mill Street, Congleton
● Various streets on the Knutsford Revolution cycle route
● London Road, between Alderley Edge and Wilmslow
● St Ann’s Road, Middlewich
● Manchester Road between Wilmslow and Handforth

Cheshire East was awarded £155,000 of first-phase funding in August, paying for eight emergency active travel schemes across seven Cheshire East towns.

The latest phase of schemes will be subject to public consultation in the new year.

Unlike the first-phase emergency temporary schemes, it is intended that these new schemes will be permanent.

Cllr Laura Crane, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and waste, said: “Creating a safer environment for walking and cycling in our towns will hopefully encourage more people out of their cars and to be more active.

“Recent surveys found that, across England, 65 per cent of people supported reallocating road space to walking and cycling in their local area and nearly eight out of 10 people support measures to reduce road traffic in their neighbourhood.

“This new funding will enable the council to consult before progressing more schemes to boost active travel infrastructure for our residents and make our towns and communities safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

“We are grateful too that, learning from the experience of the first phase, government has placed greater emphasis on community engagement and support than on speed of delivery.

“We welcome the scope for public consultation before schemes are implemented.

“We know many people’s travel behaviour has had to change during the Covid-19 lockdowns and we are determined to respond in a positive way to ensure more people can walk and cycle, to make our town centres safer, healthier and more welcoming to shoppers, residents and visitors.

“But these schemes have to be right for each specific location – which is why the public consultation and feedback is so important.”

To view details of the current active travel measures in place and give feedback, visit: https://cheshireeastactivetravel.commonplace.is/